I struggled to regain the shiny brownie top of my youth and then went back and read my nana's written recipe (I've been making these brownies since I was an infant, over 50 years ago, have the simple ingredients memorized so hadn't looked at the written paper in multiple decades). My error was I had forgotten the important first step - beat the eggs with the SALT for several minutes until they are pale and thick. THEN add the sugar. You can beat the eggs and sugar all day and all night, and you won't get the shiny top. Crazy but true.

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